It is tempting to want to write a blog post in 30 minutes. We all desire to quickly put out fresh content and not spend a lot of time doing it. I’m no different, and I also like to write my articles as quickly as possible. However, I still want to maintain quality while I’m rushing to get words down.
Besides blogging, I make most of my money from being a programmer. I have a reputation for being able to write games very quickly. The thing is, I do, and I don’t. Yes, I can turn out a game at that time, but it doesn’t take into account all of the work done before then. Such as thinking about what I’m going to do, planning it in my head, or any resources I’ve built up from previous work.
So if you want to turn out blog posts in 30 minutes, you can. But only if you do a lot of work ahead of time. Let me explain.
Do your prep work
When I’m writing code, I keep a library of snippets of things I’ve done before. I can then copy them to my new work, thus saving time. While I don’t suggest you copy word for word, your other blog posts keeping a file of sentences, research will help you in the long run. You can also just refer back to your old posts for inspiration and content ideas.
Think ahead
Thinking ahead doesn’t count towards that 30 minutes. Whenever I’m taking a walk or waiting in an office, I start organizing my ideas. If you start writing in your head, then when it comes time to put words down on the page, they will flow more freely.
Don’t be afraid of repeating yourself
If you have a subject that you are passionate about and know how to do it well, the repetition is bound to come up. Whenever I watch a video by Neil Patel or Seth Godin, they often repeat the information they’ve said before because that information is relevant. It reinforces the message.
Talk instead of writing
And to illustrate my last point, this is a message I’ve often said before. If you prefer to speak instead of typing, use Google Document’s voice typing. It is also a good way to get your word count up in a blog post. I notice that if I’m talking, I say a lot more than when my fingers do the work.
Concentrate on the message
When typing out your post, don’t think about the search engine optimization or the images you will put on the page. In fact, don’t pay attention to the formatting or spelling. You can easily go and clean that up later. What you are looking for here is to get focused and let the words pour out.
Go somewhere quiet
Only you can give yourself the time and space to get creative when it comes to productive writing. If you have a lot of distractions, it is hard to get creative work done. Make sure that you have the time when you are not going to be interrupted. Choose the right mood and sounds to listen to, be it background noise or classical music. Even silence can be a great creative motivator if available. I like to write at 4 or 5 am if I can’t sleep. The meditative benefit from silence can not be overstated.
Use the right tools
If you’ve tried to think of the right thing to write and you are just staring at the screen, thinking of what to write, you know it can be frustrating. It is also going to eat into that 30 minutes that you’ve given yourself. That’s why I wrote the blog post generator to help get me unstuck. It saves me a lot of stress and grief.
I also recommend using grammar checking tools like Grammarly to help you avoid mistakes. I also use a thesaurus plugin to help avoid overusing the same words too many times.
Keep it short and to the point
No one expects you to write War and Peace in 30 minutes. If you want to write a blog post in 30 minutes, it needs to be a short blog post around 600 words.
Use outlines
By using blog post outlines, you can give form to your post before you start writing. You may want to set this up before you start the timer. Change the headings to suit your subject. This will show you how far you have to go as you are typing.
Use filler if it makes sense
Using things such as lists or quotes can help fill in a blog post and give your document a structure. Only do this if it fits in with what you are trying to write. It has to be logical.
Conclusion
As my 30-minute timer hits the 4-minute mark, I know it is time to wrap this up. After the time is up, don’t be afraid to go back over the post and correct and add as needed. Remember, quality has to come before anything else. For myself, I took the half-hour to write the post, and in the evening, I’ll take an hour to go over several articles to clean up and use formatting.
Whatever you do, don’t stress about it, and if it takes longer to write the post, then that’s ok!
Good luck and happy writing!
